Very important question

[nighteevee]

Poll A social experiment

I'm sure it's time to start thinking about how I have lived my life when I've spent two weeks whining about having to write a paper on movies, for then to get the brilliant idea of writing it on animated movies, and promptly sit down and write 1600 words of it on a library computer and e-mail it to myself.

Comments

[47nite]

........it's a TOUGH poll. +____+;

I want to say it ended with Hunchback, but the only disqualifier is that Hunchback had at least one or two musical numbers that fell flat on their faces (and from there, Hercules/Mulan/Tarzan were notorious for inadequate music, IMHO)

Doesn't help either that '94 was Katzenberg's departure and '95 was Toy Story, thus muddling the "correct" date of downfall even more. ^^;

[nighteevee]

I KNOW. My head tends to end it after Pocahontas, but all logic and comparison to Mulan/Hercules/Let's Aim For the Anime Demographic tells me that Hunchback should be included, too.

[47nite]

Uhdwah? I didn't know animu was corrupting the Mouse that early on. and if you really want to debate me on this, Japan took their stylistic cues from Walt himself

Honestly though? The beginning of the end were the godawful sequels, beginning with Return of Jafar. ^^;;

[nighteevee]

Not consciously, I think, but the early 2000s Treasure Planet and Atlantis (Brother Bear and Tarzan show some of the tendencies) were fairly obviously not aimed at kids, but at the Young Adult Male.

It pains me to say it because I do love them, but the beginning of the end was Pixar. When they bought them, they shut down their old animation studio and put all the resources into them instead, letting the TV animation studio, I believe, handle the direct-to-video sequels.

[duokai]

This one is hard!

The Lion King is most definitely included in the definition for me, it's after that it becomes difficult. Both Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notre Dame are borderline cases I think, but they are not that far off either. The last remnants of the renaissance where it turned into a cheap, bloodless pastiche of itself? But if I should include those two, wouldn't I have to include Mulan and Hercules as well? But in that case we're clearly on the downslope.

And by Tarzan, the renaissance had definitely ended. Period.

(I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that I spent so much time as I did thinking of my answer. but in any case it's not surprising I guess.)

[nighteevee]

I suspect that the problem is that topping TLK is hard. Pocahontas and The Hunchback both have that kind of epic quality (a lot of drama, mostly) that Mulan and Hercules lack, but they're just not that good.

(Hey, I'm the one seriously writing a paper on narration in these movies *g*)